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Judgment Day (2002)
Judgment Day (2002) was the fourth annual Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on May 19, 2002, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. It featured talent from the RAW and SmackDown! brands. This event was the first pay-per-view to use the WWE name after the change from WWF although the promotional poster had the WWF logo. The main match from SmackDown! was a Singles match for the WWE Undisputed Championship featuring The Undertaker defeating Hollywood Hulk Hogan to win the championship. The main match from RAW was a Handicap match featuring Steve Austin defeating Ric Flair and The Big Show. The predominant match from SmackDown on the undercard was a Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Chris Jericho, which Triple H won by pinfall following a Pedigree on the top of the cell. The other predominant from Raw was a Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship featuring Eddie Guerrero defeating Rob Van Dam to retain his championship. The other primary match on the undercard was a Hair vs. Hair match featuring Edge defeating Kurt Angle by using a small package. Background The event featured nine professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or fan favorites as they followed a series of events which built tension, culminating in a wrestling match or series of matches. Aftermath With his feud with Triple H now over, Chris Jericho decided to enter the King of the Ring tournament, with the winner to receive an Undisputed Championship shot on August 25 at SummerSlam. Jericho was scheduled to compete against Edge in the First-Round tournament. But Edge forfeited his match to Jericho due to a shoulder injury. Jericho advanced as far as the Semi-finals, losing to Rob Van Dam. On the May 30 episode of SmackDown!, The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE Undisputed Championship. Afterwards, Triple H assaulted Taker, claiming that if Undertaker gives him a title shot, he won't retain the Undisputed title. During Triple H's match with Test, Taker interfered, enabling Test to nail Triple H with a big boot for the pin. Afterwards, Taker nailed Triple H with multiple steel chair shots esp.to his elbow. On the June 6 episode of SmackDown!, Triple H became the number one contender to the championship by defeating Hulk Hogan. Triple H faced The Undertaker for the Undisputed title at King of the Ring, only to lose despite interference on his behalf from a returning The Rock. Kurt Angle and Edge continued to feud for a few weeks after Judgment Day, and Edge was later joined by Hulk Hogan on the May 30 episode of SmackDown!. On that episode, while Hogan had a stare down with the WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, Angle nailed Hogan in the back of the head with a steel pipe. Later that night, Hogan interfered in a Steel Cage match between Angle and Edge by assaulting Angle. Moments later, Edge speared Kurt Angle from the top rope and won the Cage match. In the process, Edge injured his arm and would be forced out of action for a month. The centerpiece of this feud was a hairpiece Angle was wearing after being shaven bald, which he held to his head with a piece of amateur wrestling headgear. On the June 13 episode of SmackDown!, Angle and The Undertaker were scheduled to wrestle Hogan and Triple H but Taker and Angle assaulted Hogan before the tag match started. After Angle and Taker defeated Triple H by disqualification, Hogan went after Angle and eventually stripped Angle's wig from his head, which led to a match between the two at King of the Ring. At the event, Angle won by submission. Brock Lesnar ended his feud with the Hardy Boyz and entered the King of the Ring tournament. On RAW, Lesnar defeated Bubba Ray Dudley in the First round tournament then the following week, he defeated Booker T in the Quarter-Final round. At the King of the Ring event, he defeated Test in the Semi-Final round then went on to defeat Rob Van Dam in the King of the Ring tournament, which earned him the SummerSlam title shot against the champion. After Judgment Day Stone Cold Steve Austin continued his feud with Ric Flair, which added both Eddie Guerrero and a returning-from-injury Chris Benoit (who was last seen in June 2001 at King of the Ring due to neck injury). However, the feud ended abruptly with Austin's unexpected departure from the company on June 3 for his refusal to lose a hotshotted match to Brock Lesnar. That same night, Flair lost his half of the WWE ownership to Vince McMahon and returned to active wrestling. Guerrero's feud with Van Dam ended on the May 27 edition of RAW, when he lost his WWE Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder match. Two weeks later, he lost to Van Dam again in the King of the Ring First round tournament. He went on to face Flair at King of the Ring in place of Austin and lost the match after interference from Bubba Ray dudley. The following night on RAW, Guerrero entered a feud with Bubba Ray dudley. After pinning Bubba Ray, Guerrero had the table set up, only for Bubba Ray put him through it. Chris Benoit then applied the Crippler Crossface on Bubba Ray. The following week on RAW, Benoit and Guerrero fought Bubba Ray and Spike dudley in a tag match, which Bubba Ray and Spike won. Afterwards, as Spike tried to execute the Dudley Dog on Benoit, Benoit countered it and tossed him through a table. Benoit then applied the Crippler Crossface on Bubba Ray while Guerrero frog splashed Bubba from behind. The following two weeks on RAW, Benoit and Guerrero had defeated Bubba and Spike in two different tag matches. Then on July 21 at Vengeance, Spike and Bubba Ray defeated Benoit and Guerrero in a tag team Elimination Tables Match when Bubba last eliminated Benoit following a Bubba Bomb. On the July 29 episode of RAW, after Benoit defeated RVD for the Intercontinental title, he and Guerrero would then defect to the SmackDown! brand during a storyline "open season" on wrestler contracts, with Benoit taking his newly won Intercontinental championship with him. Rob Van Dam defeated Benoit for the title on August 25 at SummerSlam and returned the title to the RAW brand. Trish Stratus concluded her feud with Stacy Keibler after defeating Keibler in the Bra and Panties match on the May 25 episode of Velocity. She was challenged by a returning Molly Holly, who returned with a drastic attitude change and new look. Holly's return took place on the April 1 episode of RAW when she nailed Stratus in the head with a paddle, breaking the paddle into two. On the June 3 episode of Raw, Stratus successfully defended the Women's title over Terri Runnels in a Lingerie match. Holly then appeared to the ring with Brass Knuckles only for Stratus to nail her in the head with the title belt then took her undergarments off and threw em' in Holly's face. The following week, after Holly defeated Stratus in a non-title match, she took Stratus's undergarments and choked her out with it. At King of the Ring, Stratus lost the match and her Women's title to Holly after Holly executed the Belly-to-belly suplex and pinned her with a handful of tights for leverage. Results Category:2002 in wrestling Category:WWE Judgment Day Category:Pay-Per-View Events Category:WWE for Extreme